Is This Thing On? (2025)
A middle-aged man facing the specter of divorce finds a renewed vigor for life once he starts doing stand-up comedy in co-writer/director Bradley Cooper's new dramedy Is This Thing On?
Alex (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) are parents of two. Neither has cheated on the other, but they have grown tired of each other. Enough disappointments and misunderstandings have accrued over their 20-year marriage that they are heading to divorce. But they still care enough about each other that each asks the other if they are going to be okay.
One night, Alex signs up for an open mic to avoid paying a cover charge to enter a bar. He ends up getting some laughs and feeling better about himself. At the same, Tess, a former Olympic volleyball player, begins pursuing a coaching career. Not long after that, romance is rekindled between the two.
Arnett and Dern are both terrific, and the film does a good job of showing how people can get slowly worn down by middle age without even realizing it. It's all too easy to become stuck in a rut. By pursuing new things, Alex and Tess suddenly start resembling their old selves again.
The script also plays fair with the characters. It makes you understand why both Alex and Tess might be harboring some resentments against the other but also makes it clear that they are both fundamentally decent people who never intended to hurt the other.
Is
This Thing On? is
a mature, character-driven film for adults, so if you're the type who bemoans
that there aren't enough movies for adults in theaters, you should absolutely
check this out in the theater.
